BCS: Orange Bowl Lowest Rated Since 1993; Worst BCS Rating Ever

The Orange Bowl earned one of the lowest ratings in recent memory for a marquee sporting event.

The 2012 Orange Bowl, won by #23 West Virginia over #15 Clemson in a 37-point blowout, drew a 4.5 U.S. rating and 7.174 million viewers on ESPN Wednesday night — down 33% in ratings and viewership from last year (STAN/VT: 6.7, 10.682M), and down 34% in both measures compared to 2010 (IOWA/GT: 6.8, 10.879M, FOX).

The game ranks the lowest rated Orange Bowl since the 1992-93 season (FSU/NEB: 4.0, NBC), and easily the lowest rated and least-viewed Bowl Championship Series telecast in history. The previous lows for a BCS game were a 5.4 and 9.319 million for the 2009 Virginia Tech/Cincinnati Orange Bowl on FOX.

Of the five lowest rated BCS bowls — 2012 Orange (4.5), 2009 Orange (5.4), 2012 Sugar (6.1), 2011 Fiesta (6.2) and 2011 Orange (6.7) — four have aired on ESPN, and three have been Orange Bowls.

In seven of the first eight years of the BCS (all on ABC), the Orange Bowl earned at least 9% of U.S. TV homes each year. In the past six seasons (on FOX and ESPN), the game has failed to attract even 7.5% of TV homes.

For some perspective, this year’s Orange Bowl ranks below the lowest rated and least-viewed games of the NBA Finals (2003, NJ/SA G2: 5.2, 8.058M, ABC) and World Series (2008, TB/PHI: 6.1, 9.836M, FOX). Complete historical ratings were not available for the Final Four, but the lowest rated and least-viewed game of the past decade — Kansas/Marquette in 2003 — earned a 6.3 and 9.897 million on CBS.

Outside of the Stanley Cup Final and some of the major golf tournaments, it is difficult to conceive of a marquee sporting event earning less than a 5.0 TV rating.

Ratings/Viewership For the Orange Bowl
Past ten years
Asterisk (*) indicates National Championship Game

(This year’s numbers from ESPN)